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Nico has been preparing for this for months. He has gotten all the tools, the locations and, most importantly, the sacrifices. The location was an old cemetery that is very sacred to all gods. Thankfully, this time it was only food that he would be sacrificing.
Preparing human sacrifices is always so much more work than necessary, so Nico was more than glad to not have to do it this time around.
The person that he is conjuring up from the deepest, darkest depths of Tartarus is no other than Nyx.
Nyx is the daughter of Chaos, out of which all creation is originated and the sister of Erebus, who is the personification of darkness and shadows, Gaea, who is Mother Earth, and Tartarus, who the most horrible prison where monsters and people go after they die.
Nico knows that this is probably the most stupid idea he has ever had, and that’s saying a lot. When he was only ten years old he scoured the entire globe and the underworld looking for his sister, who had been presumed dead. He has travelled through The Labyrinth, which is designed to make you go mad, and almost everyone who goes down there doesn’t come back. And only a year ago, he had fallen into Tartarus and gotten out alive, traumatized, but alive. He has literally and figuratively gone through hell.
Conjuring Nyx could be the end of his life and existence but he had no other choice. He had to find out the next part of his quest. If he didn’t figure it out, it could be the end of all demigods and Olympus.
Nico sticks his hand out, curving his fingers. He can feel that familiar tugging in his gut and the earth thumping through his veins.
Nico isn’t the son of Gaea, but he is the son of Hades, god of the underworld. Therefore, he can alter the earth how he pleases and summon the dead. He wouldn’t be able to conjure up someone as powerful as Nyx if he wasn’t the son of Hades.
Nico pushes the earth down, creating a perfect grave to collect all the sacrifices. He pops open a few cans of Coca-Cola, pouring them into the earth. He drops some burgers and pizzas, along with a few different tendrils of darkness from his fingertips.
Nico wasn’t down yet he still had to put the sacrifice in that would make Nyx come.
Nico swirled his arms around, calling for bones from different graves all around the world. These weren’t just any bones though, they were bones of all the mortals and gods that have ever wronged Nyx. That is what all the research Nico has collected is for.
The only reason Nyx will come is because she’s curious to why someone is doing this.
Nico starts chanting, symbols and different patterns appearing all over his skin. His chanting gets louder and louder before he stops.
He sits down, awaiting the powerful being.
The ground splits open, rocks and dirt flying all over the place.
Nyx appears in her full form, standing a building taller than Nico. She has waist length hair that is changing dark shades with every glance and flying behind her, her eyes are completely black and her skin doesn’t seem to have a colour at all. She has an enormous black cloak shrugged over her shoulders, fanning out behind her. Darkness surrounds her like a second skin, sometimes blending into her until she is almost invisible. It is terrifying, but at the same time Nico is in awe and wanting to ask her a million questions about her powers.
“What is the meaning of this?” Nyx asks quietly, venom and mirth in her tone.
“I need your help,” Nico answers calmly.
“And you think that you can just summon me here? You have no right. I was in the middle of stopping enemies trying to infiltrate my palace. Besides, who are you? Only someone incredibly powerful could summon me and you are just a demigod,” Nyx spits out at him.
“I am Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, god of the Underworld. I need you to tell me what the next part of my quest is to save Olympus and my fellow demigods,” Nico replies slowly.
Nyx chuckles quietly.
“You are the son of hades, I can see the darkness inside you. You are not a demigod though. Hmm. I don’t see how it’s possible...” Nyx’s eyes struck with a realization before dimming again and changes the subject. “Why would you assume that I would help you?”
Nico files her weird information for another time away in his mind, “Curiosity.”
“Curiosity?” Nyx says, intrigued.
“Yes. You want to know how someone so puny like myself is going to save an entire race of demigods and gods,” Nico confidently states.
“I will tell you what you need to know, but for a price. I want you to find my daughter, Phoebe and tell her it is time. She’ll understand what that means.”
“I swear on the river Styx that I will do everything in my power to find her and deliver your message.”
“You need to seek out Thanatos, my brother, and receive his gift. You will know what to do from there. Now if you excuse me, I must be getting back to my palace and showing those wretched monsters what happens when you anger Nyx.” Nyx flew back down the hole she appeared from, the ground fixing itself as she disappears.
Nico knows what he must do now. He must find Thanatos, who is guarding the doors of death and receive his gift, whatever that means.
Something else is bugging him though. Nyx said that he is not a demigod. It could just be her trying to toy with his mind, but she is the daughter of Chaos she wouldn’t have anything to gain with lying to Nico. That’s a matter for a different time though, right now he must save his friends and family.
His entire existence and the fate of the world rests on his shoulders.